Review: Learn About Wiebe Specialty Skinning Knives

If there is one piece of gear that is universal in any bug out bag or survival kit, it is a knife. Simply put, in situations of self-reliance, there is no shortage of work to be done with a knife. Having the right knife is simply a must.

One company that is doing their best to put out a lineup of quality knives is Wiebe Knives. In this review, learn about their specialty line of knives and enter to win a set of two knives in a giveaway. There will be two winners.

First Ask, What Do You Want to Do With Your Knife?

Before buying a knife it is important to understand the task you will be asking it to perform. Some knives are more robust, while others are best suited to fine tasks. Oftentimes, a knife that is good at heavy work, may not be well-suited for fine work. Are you looking for an all-around knife, or do you have the room for multiple specialty knives?

How you answer these two looming questions will have a huge influence in what knife you choose.

Wiebe Knives

Wiebe Knives specializes in catering toward the needs of animal skinners, trappers, and fur handlers. Their array of knives is capable of accomplishing every task to professionally put up fur. These specialty knives are well suited for their task, but how well do they meet the needs of those interested in preparing for a long term survival situation?

In order to answer that question, I browsed the Wiebe website and found two that stood out: the Vixen folding knife and the 4” Skinner.

The Vixen Folding Knife

The Vixen folding knife is one of the top knives in their lineup. This folding knife is fitted with a replaceable “wicked sharp” blade. These blades are legitimately surgical-grade and are touted to be as sharp as any scalpel.

One positive aspect of the knife is the 24 replacement blades that come standard with the purchase. These blades are individually wrapped and protected in order to maintain their edge. The Vixen is 7.5” long when in use, and folds up to a compact 4” when folded.

The Vixen with “Wicked Sharp” surgical blades

The folks at Wiebe also throw in a carrying case capable of being conveniently strapped on a belt. The carrying case accommodates the knife in addition to around 15 replacement blades.

The Vixen is light in the hand and can be easily used for extended periods of time. As far as comfort goes, this knife is customized to fit into the hand. Its ergonomic design feels right at home when being put to work.

After getting a chance to test out the Vixen, it quickly became apparent the “wicked sharp” blades would live up to their advertising. In fact, this knife actually comes with a warning about the sharpness of the blades. The surgical blades require only a very light touch and quickly severe animal tissue.

The Vixen takes to heart the old adage “you’ll do more damage with a dull blade than with a sharp blade.” Because it is so ultra-sharp, you don’t apply hardly any pressure while using it. The blades do all the work. It certainly is one of those knives you have to be careful with.

Another aspect of the Vixen that you may appreciate is the firm fixture of the blade. Because the blades are so sharp, and they are replaceable, Wiebe needed to ensure the blades fit securely to the knife. Having a blade that could accidentally detach is simply not an option with these knives. During the test, these blades never hinted they could mistakenly release from the knife itself. Ironically, they also easily come off with the use of a pair of pliers and the proper technique. Switching out blades takes only seconds, and once secured you shouldn’t have to worry too much about the blade coming off.

The downside of the Vixen is twofold. One, as a folding knife with a replaceable blade, it is a very specialty blade. This knife is meant to work on animals and soft tissue in general. It is not a woodworking blade and should never be used as such. In fact, the warning that comes with the knife will tell you just as much. If you have plans of using this knife for anything other than skinning, think again.

Second, in a long term situation, you’ll eventually run out of replacement blades. Sure, you can sharpen the blades, although maybe not to their original state. Once sharp, though, you’re then stuck with the quandary of where to store these small blades.

Even so, the Vixen might prove to be the ultra sharp knife you’ll like having close at hand for those special situations, such as butchering food animals.

The 4″ Skinner Knife

As the name would indicate, this knife has a 4” blade with a thin blade well-suited for the fine work of skinning animals. This knife comes very sharp in the mail and is ready to use right out of the package. Although the handle is not as customized to the hand as the Vixen, overall it is actually a lighter weight knife. It fits in the hand about like your common Mora knife and is still comfortable after a long working session.

The 4” Skinner Kife is versatile due to its fixed blade

One advantage the Skinner has over the Vixen is the fixed blade design.

Fixed blades have several advantages over folding knives, especially when considering long-term situations. For starters, you don’t have to worry about a fixed blade accidentally closing on your fingers. Although the Vixen never hinted it might mistakenly close, you simply never know with folding knives.

Also, as a fixed blade, the Skinner can be put to more rigorous tasks. While using this knife, a certain degree of pressure can be applied to the knife from different angles. As long as the pressure isn’t enormous, it will likely stand up to the task. Unlike the Vixen, the Skinner could easily be employed as a fine whittler and woodworking knife in addition to its skinning duties. Its versatility is something you may not want to overlook.

Another feature of the Skinner is its ability to sharpen the blade at your convenience. When paired with a sharpening stone and adept hands, the Skinner can stay sharp for years to come.

Although a quality knife, the Skinner does have some downsides as well. One drawback to this knife is the lack of a sheath to carry it in. When it arrives in the mail there is only the knife with a cardboard covering of the blade. You will either need to store it in a safe place or create your own carrying case to pack it along with you. Secondly, the Skinner is a skinning knife at heart. It was never truly designed for rugged all around use and shouldn’t be used as such. If you like to baton wood, or are looking for one knife for absolutely everything, it might not be the best fit.

The Giveaway

The nice folks at Wiebe are offering a set of both the Vixen and the Skinner to two lucky readers.

Although comments are not necessary to win, you do get five “entries” for answering the giveaway question. Just remember that you must select the “I Commented” entry in the Rafflecopter to have your comment recorded in the random drawing. The question for this drawing is:

The deadline is 6:00 PM MST next Tuesday with the winner notified by email and announced on the Rafflecopter in the article. Please note that the winner must claim their prize within 48 hours or an alternate will be selected.

Note: Due to Customs requirements, this giveaway is only open to those with a mailing address in the United States.

The Final Word

At the end of the day, both the Vixen and the Skinner are well constructed for the task they were designed for. Hunters and anyone else who is planning on processing animals for food, fur or hides will find these knives useful.

Both have advantages and disadvantages. The Vixen is scary sharp and makes cutting work a breeze, while the Skinner is better able to stand up to abuse. As a duo, they complement each other and are useful additions to a bug out bag or survival kit.

Vigilant Trails Snare Kit: This is kit is part of the Pocket Survival Kit series by Vigilant Trails. Designed for small game under 25 pounds, the snares are pre-loaded have a super-fast closing action. The kit is small enough to fit in your pocket and includes instructions and same snare set-ups. You could make a similar kit yourself, but for $13.99, this is a terrific alternative to DIY.

Fiskars X7 14-Inch Hatchet: I have owned this particular hatchet for over a year. Due to its design, the handle is virtually unbreakable and the head will not loosen. The blade is forged carbon steel and a sheath is included. I love Fiskars products because they a reasonably priced and have a lifetime warranty. At the same time, I purchased the hatchet, I purchased this Fiskars Axe and Knife Sharpener.

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A frequent question I get on Backdoor Survival has to do with healthcare matters when there is no doctor around. This is the definite source of survival medical information for all Prepper’s and is my go-to bible for survival medicine.

If I don’t have my Swiss Army knife and my Leatherman multi-tool, then I don’t have pants on. No matter how many knives you carry you should always have at least one that is used only for food. Imagine unknowingly cutting poison ivy and then using the same blade to prepare your food.

I usually have two, a Kershaw and a Hoffman RichterHR15, I used to carry my Gerber multi tool when we lived in the mountains, probably should now! But as sharp as my knives are, I am sure they are not as sharp as the surgical steel blade one in the giveaway!

I carry two knives nearly every day. One is a small Zippo lock blade about 1″ to 1 1/4″ long on my key chain. I also keep a larger lock blade approximately 4″ long that also has a seat belt cutter, slotted screw driver and glass breaker. It sounds big and heavy but it isn’t.

I carry a Buck knife fixed blade on the belt of my go backpack and another smaller gerber multi-tool with a folding blade in my pocket. A woman can never have too many knives in my opinion–would love to try out one of these

For EDC I carry a 2 1/4 inch fold out razor. It is very small, flat & light and allows me to always have a cutting tool. It is considered disposable, however, I often resharpen it. It takes a lot of abuse, and usually lasts me at least 6 months to a year. Beyond the razor, I may grab an additional folding knife, strap on a multi-tool, a full tang, or even a machete, depending on the day’s activities.

I carry a caribiner with a knife attached. Unless you look at the carabiner closely one doesn’t see the knife in it. I accidentally left it in my purse with my keys attached to it when I flew to see my brother out west. It went thru the scanner and no one questioned it. Needless to say on the return trip I put it in my checked suitcase on the return trip.

I carry an “Old Timer” (have for years – lose one about every three or four years and replace with the same thing) with two carbon steel blades. I keep them sharp.
Also carry a small “Buck” with a heavier stainless steel blade. It will even cut light wire.
Also carry a small “Channel Lock” plier and a small LED flashlight.
Used to carry a “Bic” lighter but now have butane lighters with flexible nozzles all around the house, garage and shed.

I only have a multi-tool knife that I keep in my car. I work at an elementary school with special needs children. I can’t carry a knife. I DO like the idea of having/carrying two knifes one for food the other for whatever.

I carry my grandfather’s Case pocket knife in my purse (almost lost it at the airport once at security). In my get home bag, I have a Spydero G10 and a Gerber LMF 11. I’d love to have one of the Weibes to add to my preps.

I carry just a small cheap pocket knife (and a mini-Leatherman) in my EDC (which is my purse). I use a “cheap” knife so that if I forget to take it out of my purse when I go thru the airport and it gets taken away from me, then I don’t lose an expensive piece. I carry a higher quality Moraknife in my BOB.

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I carry a red bandana. a small flashlight, a propane lighter with duct tape on it and a 4 inch folding lock blade knife made by Klein tool everywhere I go, and they come in handy at least once a day… I’m not paranoid, just prepared like a good boy scout…

A good knife is always a necessary item but difficult to find. I have broken countless knives over the years that were not full-tang but which were pretty expensive. Additionally I have yet to figure out which little MacGyver knife is the one for me. If you have some pearls of wisdom in that topic I would love you for it.

For town carry, so to speak, I have a buck two blade folder that I’ve had for over 40 years in one pocket and a large Schrade folder in the other side pocket as I write this. For woods carry in my Carharts I have a small single blade folder, a small, inexpensive multi-tool and a larger Schrade tanto folder.

When I’m away from home I generally carry a Leatherman with both regular and serrated blades and/or my Swiss Army knife “Army Hunter” model with a locking 3 1/2 inch blade and a 1 1/2 inch serrated gutting blade. So, plenty of knife blades.

This giveaway is interesting to me because I’m always looking for better skinning knives. We raise chickens and geese and when I’m butchering for canning it is much easier to skin them than to pull all those feathers off!

I have a few good utility knives but nothing that is made to carve and/or prep food. Pretty dumb to have overlooked it. With all of the “things” needed for survival I’m having enough trouble storing everything at home and still don’t have everything. . If I had to leave it for a small bug out place I need to prioritize because everything I have at home wouldn’t be able to go with me. This knife and a few others would be at the top of that list. Thanks Gayle!

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MEET GAYE

I'm Gaye, just an ordinary gal trying to make sense of our changing world. I am addicted to prepping, DIY projects, adult coloring books, and ballroom dancing. I live what I call a strategic life and believe you should too. Everyone needs to prepare for the worst and live for the best. Won't you join me?